Spain’s Support for Autonomy Initiative, Fundamental Change in Moroccan Sahara Issue – Columnist –

“The support of Spain for the autonomy initiative as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for the settlement of the artificial conflict over the Moroccan Sahara, represents a fundamental change regarding the national cause,” says writer-journalist, Talaâ Saoud Al Atlassi. “Spain fully supports the Moroccan autonomy initiative that it considers the most serious, realistic and credible basis for the settlement of the dispute, which represents a fundamental and geographical change,” he writes in an article published Wednesday on the news site “Machahid 24″ under the title “Autonomy Initiative, the nightmare of the Algerian regime”. “By taking this decision in favor of the justness of the national cause, Spain confirms the geographical reality of the Moroccan Sahara since the history of this region is preserved and firmly anchored,” he notes, highlighting the pragmatism of the Spanish position, which, while drawing lessons from history, is turned to the future of relations between the two countries. The author believes, therefore, that “this decisive turning point in the national cause will be further consolidated thanks to the geostrategic change that the world is experiencing, and vis-à-vis which Morocco shows intelligence, wisdom, Realpolitik and a sense of history while standing out as an active and influential player”. Talaâ Saoud Al Atlassi also underlines that the Moroccan autonomy initiative “has managed to conquer vast margins in the political approach to this conflict at the international level,” adding that “this historic initiative is now imposed by its credibility, its realism, its relevance and its momentum towards the future”. Commenting on the Algerian reaction to this new Spanish position, he stresses that “the Algerian regime has been accustomed for years to resort, following its cascading diplomatic defeats, to expressions such as ‘astonishment’, ‘indignation’, ‘condemnation’ or ‘denunciation’ “, emphasizing, however, “the strategic vision of Morocco, its sense of history and its realism in managing Algerian protests on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara”. For him, “the Algerian regime is still plagued by illusions and representations that can only cause disappointment while dealing with the domestic situation in Algeria and more importantly, is unable to manage the country’s external relations”. “The Algerian regime does not have the potentialities and attributes in terms of state governance, first of all its inability to really understand the events inside the country and outside,” he points out. While asserting that “pragmatism is the main engine of political outcome” and that “the practice of Realpolitik requires a state where all the sensitivities, expectations and ambitions of the people in all its components are expressed, a nation-state as defined in political science,” Saoud Al Atlassi notes that the Algerian regime does not meet all these standards.